frenchphd

Feel free to dm me if anyone here wants to talk about programs, cultures, finances, and/or the question of "where should I go?"

You do not need previous graduate experience. Three-four years of graduate coursework (MA + MA in the PhD program) is EXHAUSTING and completely unnecessary for writing a dissertation—this is something to think about. If you must, look at funded MA programs in French. You'll also gain teaching experience, which will be good if you are ever on the job market, and it will give you insight into whether you want to teach French as a career, whether at the college (if you're lucky) or high school level (contrary to popular belief, it isn't easy to switch to other kinds of jobs, so lots of people end up teaching high school). Just go directly if you can. I went directly, and so did lots of people I know. People with MA's aren't really "better." They have more experience, but you tend to catch up quickly. If a PhD program admits you, they believe you can do the work. Trust the judgment of these professors—they have admitted and supervised countless students.

Hope everyone has seen all the stuff re: cash-cow masters programs at Columbia, UChicago, etc, if not on WSJ, then on Twitter. Avoid these fake programs.

If you are still looking for a funded French masters for next year, consider Miami OH: https://www.miamioh.edu/graduate-school/admission/index.html What matters is that it's free! They also have great placements in top PhD programs in French.

If you have the resources, you should go for it! Mostly, I just wouldn't recommend someone to take loans/spend limited savings etc. in pursuit of a graduate humanities degree. I'm curious by what you mean by you 'can help with her research.' Academic research in French lit/studies is not typically a collaborative affair, unless it's in the digital humanities category.

Given that this MA program is brand new, it seems to me Stanford is trying it out to increase funding. The idea would be to have a few MA students every year to support PhD stipends. What is Stanford's tuition? $70k? That's the stipend for two PhD students that year (the tuition for PhD students is basically imaginary). Other years, students will teach and what not, which will draw from the university's teaching fund. It won't even out exactly, but it will heavily cushion the French department's finances, which has been in serious trouble, along with the entire DLCL. I personally wouldn't want to be a second-class citizen in the department. Doing an unfunded masters will not work against you, but it will also not impress faculty. If I were you, I'd look for funded masters programs in French. When such programs exist, it makes little sense to pay $100k each year (tuition + living costs) to get a masters degree in French from Stanford. Sure, it's a big name, but it's quite easy these days to get into big name schools like UPenn and Columbia, which have so many cash-cow MA programs that trade the uni's name for cashflow. If this degree was one with heavy payoffs (like CS!), we could argue that it makes sense to do it. (Btw: people do not get paid $15k speaker fees haha—at MOST $1-2k + travel and housing costs is typical! I've even organized to pay $500 speaker fees to a tenured Ivy League prof.)

OMG please no—do NOT do an unfunded masters in French. It's money down the drain—unless you have lots of it, then up to you. I'm surprised that Stanford has this new path, but it makes sense, since they are short on $$ these days. In this regard, you would just be funding their PhD program. The reason people do not graduate in 5-6 years is not because they can't. I could have rushed my dissertation and finished it as a fourth year. No, the time-to-degree is long mainly because people try to spend as much time as possible collecting teaching experience and applying to jobs. There are barely any jobs, and 5th year PhDs rarely, if ever, get those jobs. As someone at a school where the teaching load is relatively low, I can guarantee you that having less time to teach does not make me—or any of my peers—more 'productive' in our writing. It actually works against us, since most jobs are teaching jobs. The longer time also allows us to think about how to transit out of academia. The majority of French PhDs, even from top programs, will not find tenure-track jobs. It's not easy to just wake up and switch—it takes some work. Spending as much time as possible reading and writing things we care about is the only true romanticized outcome of French PhD programs. Not everyone can afford such a lifestyle, esp. if they have kids, loans, other issues, etc.

Under neoliberalism, nothing related to the humanities at the university is going to get "better." That's just the endpoint for me.

Berkeley is a fantastic institution in a wonderful location. The profs are amazing and supportive, the atmosphere is collegial and friendly—unlike most east coast schools. Money will be tight. You will have to decide what is more important to you: a good experience with so-so $$, or relatively more $$ with a not-so-great atmosphere.

Just a reminder as you finish your applications: you should not think about getting a PhD in French as a means to an end, i.e. becoming a full-time professor in a university. That is an alternative path; the vast majority of French PhDs today do not find tenure-track jobs. However, if your goal is to read nice books, travel to France and elsewhere, read and write and just live while you can, then go for it—especially if you are in your mid-twenties. It can be fun. But absolutely do not expect to be a professor; otherwise, you might be in for a shock, whether you go to a top school or not.

Yes. Feel free to email the DGS at either school if you want to hear it from them.

Just be warned that this will be an absolutely terrible year for admission to PhD programs in French. Columbia has already announced it is not accepting applications for Fall 2021. Yale and Princeton will only accept a handful. Good luck. It would be best to wait a year; most students that start PhD programs in French during Fall 2021 will be "underplaced."

Yale's Spanish department is complete garbage-fire. That said, I wouldn't recommend that you get a masters in Spanish lit from Oxford -- your professor is right; it is a waste of money. The likelihood of getting a full-time faculty job after the PhD is very slim; in the process, you don't want to pay any debt in this precarious profession. I would recommend that you apply to PhD programs that you want to attend (although note that next year is going to be pretty dismal admissions-wise: COVID will translate into fewer admission offers at all schools.) Don't apply to programs you are not sure about attending. Along with these top programs, I would say you should apply to funded masters programs in Spanish. Through a funded MA program, you will get teaching experience as well as experience with graduate coursework (teaching experience is much more valuable in the job market than just more coursework). The masters won't be from Oxford, but many top schools like Notre Dame offer a funded masters in Spanish. Also look into public schools that depend on MA graduate students to teach introductory classes (UIUC, UMass). I don't have the impression that an MA is really necessary. I did not get one before starting my PhD. Neither did many of my friends. This is anecdotal, yes, but I think you would be admitted primarily for your writing sample, quality recommendations and personal statement--not because you have a masters.

@Marcin, grad seminars are tricky business. For example, part of the reason NYU French admits so many students is to fill their seminars. Students there have to take most of their classes within the department. On the other hand, at Cornell, students have a lot more freedom, precisely because it's a PhD in Romance Studies, interdisciplinary by its structure itself. And then there are Harvard and Yale, which allow you to take four seminars outside the department. If it's a small cohort, the faculty will offer fewer graduate courses, and mostly required ones/based on interests. Congratulations on all the offers! Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about getting a PhD in French, where to go, etc.

Hey there @Vivian2020, That's a nice fellowship, but please consider how terrible living in Charlottesville can be -- it is extremely difficult and time-consuming to get to any major city. If you study foreign languages, you probably have some interest in travel and the like. Traveling while going to UVA is extremely annoying. I'd much rather go to Emory than UVA. Of course, you should visit and then make up your mind.